Help me geek out on a new set of skis...

[tnt1234]

90-95

I'd go more like 95-105. But that's not much of a difference really.

 

[Ski the Moguls]

So would you care to give examples of which skis you demoed and thoughts on them?

To start with, I love my old Volkl Kendo’s. 89mm waist, 163 length. Short, I know, but I wanted an all mountain ski that would turn more like a slalom ski when on edge, rather than the normal GS turn radius. Over the years, the only thing I felt these skis were missing was a little more float in the soft snow.

Last year my son was demoing and, as luck would have it, our boot soles are all of 1mm different so I was able to try a bunch of skis with him at Killington. I could not find anything that I liked better than my Kendo’s. Most skis were not even close. Even obvious contenders like the Blizzard Brahma just felt much worse than mine. He did not share my opinions (at all) and found skis he loves. Anyone hear of the Sego ski company before? I had not.

Fast forward to this year when I made a trip out west with my son. We went to Snowbird the first week of April. It was epic. So much snow. I was worried that my “tiny” Kendo’s might not be big enough for western powder. I decided to start with the ski I had been planning to buy. The Mantra is a wider version of the Kendo for more float.

Volkl Mantra. 96mm waist 170cm length. Just felt a little heavier and slower to turn. Not bad, but what I gained in stability I lost in quickness.

I wanted to float above the chop, so I went back and asked for something a little wider, softer, and lighter.

Atomic something or other, 100mm underfoot, 165 length. Do you remember the round saucer sleds we used to slide down snowy hills in our youth? The kind you could just stick you hand out and get them spinning? Well these skis felt like that. OMG I hated them.

This was not going as I had planned, so I decided to return to something much closer to my Kendo’s.

Nordica Enforcer 93, 169cm. My hopes were not high with this one because I kept hearing fatter is better, especially out west, but I had not tried the Enforcer 93 yet and had heard so many good things about it. I was shocked at how much I liked it. First ski I tried that actually felt just as quick and confidence inspiring as my old Kendo’s, but being longer it had more forgiveness and float in the chop. Quite a revelation. Float from length rather than width. People do not talk about that too much.

That night I did some on line research and saw that the Head Kore seemed to have replaced the Nordica Enforcer as the new reviewer’s favorite in the all mountain category, so I went in search of that. Luckily Snowbird has multiple on hill shops to demo from and Christy’s had the Head Kore. It was already out in the morning so I tried another wider ski instead.

Blizzard Bonafide, 98mm waist, 173 length. Nope. To heavy, too slow. It is fine on the groomer, but turning off into the mogled, chopped up goods it was a total confidence killer. I just could not get the ski to go exactly where I needed it quickly enough, and found myself hiding in the back seat waiting for it to come around instead of being aggressive.

I was going to try the Head Kore 99, but after hating the Bonafide at 98mm I decided to try the Kore 93.

Head Kore 93, 171cm, is actually only 91mm underfoot as they change the dimensions based on the length of the ski. This was it, I was in love. Just as much float and forgiveness as the Nordica Enforcer’s, but the Kore is super lightweight while still being stiff and I found it just as quick in the bumps as my old Kendo’s, despite being a couple of mm’s wider and a full size longer.

That is my story. I am not recommending that anyone now go out and buy the Head Kore 93 without demoing first. Find the ski that works best for you.

 

[BenedictGomez]

My skis are 74 underfoot. Perfect for hard packed fast groomers. They sink like hot knives in butter in soft spring snow, not the right tool. How wide would I need to go to get some float in mushy snow? Let's keep it under 100.

You'll notice a big difference in those spring conditions with something 90mm underfoot. I think that's about perfect for the "mushy snow" you describe.

 

[tnt1234]

To start with, I love my old Volkl Kendo’s. 89mm waist, 163 length. Short, I know, but I wanted an all mountain ski that would turn more like a slalom ski when on edge, rather than the normal GS turn radius. Over the years, the only thing I felt these skis were missing was a little more float in the soft snow.

Last year my son was demoing and, as luck would have it, our boot soles are all of 1mm different so I was able to try a bunch of skis with him at Killington. I could not find anything that I liked better than my Kendo’s. Most skis were not even close. Even obvious contenders like the Blizzard Brahma just felt much worse than mine. He did not share my opinions (at all) and found skis he loves. Anyone hear of the Sego ski company before? I had not.

Fast forward to this year when I made a trip out west with my son. We went to Snowbird the first week of April. It was epic. So much snow. I was worried that my “tiny” Kendo’s might not be big enough for western powder. I decided to start with the ski I had been planning to buy. The Mantra is a wider version of the Kendo for more float.

Volkl Mantra. 96mm waist 170cm length. Just felt a little heavier and slower to turn. Not bad, but what I gained in stability I lost in quickness.

I wanted to float above the chop, so I went back and asked for something a little wider, softer, and lighter.

Atomic something or other, 100mm underfoot, 165 length. Do you remember the round saucer sleds we used to slide down snowy hills in our youth? The kind you could just stick you hand out and get them spinning? Well these skis felt like that. OMG I hated them.

This was not going as I had planned, so I decided to return to something much closer to my Kendo’s.

Nordica Enforcer 93, 169cm. My hopes were not high with this one because I kept hearing fatter is better, especially out west, but I had not tried the Enforcer 93 yet and had heard so many good things about it. I was shocked at how much I liked it. First ski I tried that actually felt just as quick and confidence inspiring as my old Kendo’s, but being longer it had more forgiveness and float in the chop. Quite a revelation. Float from length rather than width. People do not talk about that too much.

That night I did some on line research and saw that the Head Kore seemed to have replaced the Nordica Enforcer as the new reviewer’s favorite in the all mountain category, so I went in search of that. Luckily Snowbird has multiple on hill shops to demo from and Christy’s had the Head Kore. It was already out in the morning so I tried another wider ski instead.

Blizzard Bonafide, 98mm waist, 173 length. Nope. To heavy, too slow. It is fine on the groomer, but turning off into the mogled, chopped up goods it was a total confidence killer. I just could not get the ski to go exactly where I needed it quickly enough, and found myself hiding in the back seat waiting for it to come around instead of being aggressive.

I was going to try the Head Kore 99, but after hating the Bonafide at 98mm I decided to try the Kore 93.

Head Kore 93, 171cm, is actually only 91mm underfoot as they change the dimensions based on the length of the ski. This was it, I was in love. Just as much float and forgiveness as the Nordica Enforcer’s, but the Kore is super lightweight while still being stiff and I found it just as quick in the bumps as my old Kendo’s, despite being a couple of mm’s wider and a full size longer.

That is my story. I am not recommending that anyone now go out and buy the Head Kore 93 without demoing first. Find the ski that works best for you.

Wow - you tried a lot of skis! Glad you found your winner.

What is your weight and height?

 

[tumbler]

Enforcer 93 is the only ski I have. Took it out west on two trips and had no issues with it in powder, floats great. Back east it can handle everything and I don't worry that I need to be on a different ski. I laugh at the scoldings that you can't ski powder in anything below a 115, a lot of us did it in long skinny skis and it worked just fine.

 

[prsboogie]

If anyone is looking, the Liberty Origin 96 is a great option for a lightweight easy-to-ski, ski. It was WAY too soft but it was clearly a fun floaty turnable choice for a sub 225 rider.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using AlpineZone mobile app

 

[Ski the Moguls]

Wow - you tried a lot of skis! Glad you found your winner.

What is your weight and height?

about 5'9" and 170 lbs.